How the U.S. Military Avoids and Deals With Nuclear Contamination

Back in the bad old days of the Cold War, a major concern was operating in and around a battlefield that had been contaminated with nuclear detonations. As a result, the U.S. military has built a considerable expertise on dealing with widespread contamination that it is now beginning to apply to civilian assistance programs.

These three manuals lay out the tactics, techniques, and procedures for the avoidance of, protection from, and decontamination from nuclear and radiological (as well as chemical and biological) contamination. Three worthy reads and references as the story in Japan grows.

Why China’s Exports to North Korea are GrowingChina’s exports to North Korea grew nearly 20 percent in the first half of the year, according to the Korea International Trade Association on Wednesday, despite its promises to crack down and impose international sanctions.China’s exports to the Source: Beijing’s exports to Pyongyang swell 18%-INSIDE Korea Joong […]

On The Global TimesThere is some debate as to what degree The Global Times, the relentlessly jingoistic English-language daily published in Beijing, is in sync with the government and the party. While some China-watchers suggest that the GT is a pure party mouthpiece, others believe that it Zhongnanhai’s leashed pit-bull, useful to scare the neighbors, but i […]

Is China’s Navy hiding its real secret weapon?The Chinese navy has in recent times focused much attention upon a decidedly more mundane and nonphotogenic arena of naval warfare: sea mines. This focus has, in combination with other asymmetric forms of naval warfare, had a significant impact on the balance of power in East Asia. In tandem with submarine capabi […]

Philippines sends six Coast Guard vessels to South China SeaMove to guard Filipino fishermen in Scarborough Shoal Source: Philippines sends six Coast Guard vessels to South China Sea | GulfNews.com So the Philippine Coast Guard is going to protect Filipino fishing vessels. There are yachts and fishing boats in any given marina in the US that are more heavily […]

New Imperial China and the US-Japan AllianceThe rise of China poses many questions, foremost of which is will a powerful China be a responsible member of the international community, complying with established rules and norms of the current global system? Or will it defy global standards, and strive instead to project its own rules and norms, thereby challen […]

A Peaceful Racist Rise: China, Africans, Race, and International RelationsLast summer there were a spate of articles documenting the sometimes latent and often blatant antipathy that many Chinese feel toward people of African descent. In Foreign Policy, Fulbright Scholar Viola Rothschild described her findings while conducting research on African entrepreneu […]

Innovation and Standardization in ChinaThe study examines defining characteristics of the evolving Chinese innovation and standards system and explores possible impacts for China as well as the global economy. China considers standardization to be an essential tool for improving its innovative capacity, yet very little is known about this critical building b […]

More than half of Chinese infrastructure investments have “destroyed, not generated” economic value as the costs have been larger than the benefits, according to researchers at Oxford university, a finding that will fuel debate over the viability of China’s infrastructure-heavy growth model. Source: China infrastructure investment model under fire – FT.com A […]

Only China Can Contain China“Only China Can Contain China” Joseph Nye The Huffington Post 11 May 2015 Ariana Huffington’s eponymous clickbait factory is so often a cloaca of journalistic offal that it is almost painful to cite it, but this piece by Joseph Nye is an important exception, if for no other reason than its source. Nye is a calming voice of reason, […]

Chinese SOEs and Diplomatic ImmunityThere has been a lot of discussion in the news and online today about whether a Chinese state-owned enterprise can claim sovereign immunity from prosecution in the United States because they should be considered “an organ of the state.” This is a legal question, and it is not cut and dried. Andrew Dickinson, Rae Lindsay, a […]

As China deploys surface-to-air missile (SAM) launchers to the Woody Islands in the South China Sea, CNAS Defense Strategies and Assessments Program Associate Fellow Kelley Sayler has written a new report, “Red Alert: The Growing Threat to U.S. Aircraft Carriers.” The report examines the short-, medium-, and long-range threats to the carrier – including SAMs […]

Where North Korea’s Leaders are Going Michael Madden discusses an infusion of hardliners in the latest reshuffling of North Korea’s top leadership. Source: Let the Hawks Soar | 38 North: Informed Analysis of North Korea

This new report explains how central government efforts to address excessive production capacity have been ineffectual due to regional protectionism, weak regulatory enforcement, low resource pricing, misdirected investment, inadequate protection of intellectual property rights and an emphasis on market share. Source: Overcapacity in ChinaView On WordPress